News Feature

Red may be the color for Valentines Day, but on the following day, February 15, the Mariners women’s basketball team is thinking pink.

The “Think Pink Game” is the team’s annual event to raise awareness of and funds for breast cancer.

“This year we really wanted to focus on it because it’s hit close to home,” said Courtney Dufour, one of the team’s assistant coaches.

Castine resident and assistant coach Katrina Dagan was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, and a team member’s mother is also fighting the disease.

Dagan’s positive attitude during treatment has motivated the team to put extra effort into the annual event, Dufour said.

“[Katrina] has served as a role model to all with her optimistic attitude and refusal to give up. She has inspired us on so many levels. Therefore, we want to reach out to the community by involving them in raising awareness as well as support,” she said.

To give a boost to fundraising, the team’s coach—and Dagan’s husband—Craig Dagan has committed to dying his hair pink if $1,000 is raised by tip-off.

The team is asking MMA students, staff and alumni, and the wider Castine community, to show support before and during the Think Pink Game. Tip-off is 1 p.m., with Mariners facing off against Lyndon State College from Vermont.

The team’s motto for Think Pink is “Start the fight,” and pamphlets will be available at the game, with information on symptoms, self exams and early diagnosis.

“That could be the difference between life and death,” Dufor said.

All money raised will be donated to the Mary Dow Center for Cancer Care in Ellsworth, which provides care to patients in Hancock and Washington counties. Dagan received treatment at the center.

“The impact [of breast cancer] is not just on the person [diagnosed] but on the people around her,” Dufour said.